[2] Longtime member of the Arkansas General Assembly Jim Hendren (Independent) announced his retirement in 2022, opening a vacancy in the 35th district, which had recently been renumbered from the 2nd district during redistricting.
[2][3] Dees ran against Jeff Tennant and State Representative Gayla Hendren McKenzie in the March 2022 Republican primary.
The race went to a runoff election,[4] when Dees defeated McKenzie to win the Republican nomination.
[5] In November 2022, Dees defeated Libertarian Doug Peterson in the general election, winning 73 percent of the votes.
[6] He was seated on January 9, 2023 in the 94th Arkansas General Assembly.